Team_

Richard Dellabarca

Chief Executive

Richard is NZVIF's Chief Executive. He has held a variety of leadership roles in venture capital and private equity backed opportunities, capital markets and financial technology in Europe, Asia and North America. He has extensive investment banking experience, working in Australian and New Zealand in mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets. He also serves on the boards of Kea NZ, the NZ Rugby Union, Harmoney and the Blues. He has an MBA from Cambridge University and is qualified as a barrister and solicitor, and chartered accountant. Richard is a member of the Institute of Directors New Zealand.

James Pinner

Investment Director

James is an Investment Director providing support for both the Venture Capital Fund and the Seed Co-Investment Funds. James has over 15 years of corporate finance across private investments and equity capital markets. James’ experience includes investment banking in London, working across North America, Europe, Africa and South-East Asia and more recently mergers and acquisitions across Australasia. James is a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, holds a BSc from Leeds University and is a member of the NZ Institute of Directors.

Molly Yang

Investment Manager

Molly Yang is an Investment Manager assisting with key market and analytical information relevant to NZVIF's seed fund activity. Molly has over 10 years investment and portfolio management experience. She previously worked for US and Chinese venture capital funds in Shanghai, and for Cure Kids Ventures after moving to New Zealand. Molly has a Master of Applied Finance degree from Macquaire University in Sydney.

George Liddell

Investment Manager

George is an Investment Manager providing technical and operational support for both the Venture Capital and Seed investment Funds. George previously worked in Venture Capital in New York at the early-stage venture fund, WME Ventures. He has a Master of Science in Applied Physics from Columbia University, New York, and a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. While studying in the United States, he represented New Zealand on a Fulbright Science and Innovation Scholarship provided by the US government.

Owen Woodhouse

Investment Manager

Owen is an Investment Manager providing support to the team for investments made through the Seed Co-Investment Fund. He is a recent graduate of the MBA program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he gained early stage investing experience through an internship with the Carolina Angel Network. Owen previously worked as a Structural Engineer for Beca. He has a Master of Science in Earthquake Engineering from the University of Pavia and a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Auckland.

Allen Fan

Investment Analyst

Allen is an Investment Analyst supporting the investment team across both the Venture Capital and Seed Co-investment Funds. Prior to joining NZVIF he was a Senior Analyst in the Finance and Economics Consulting team at PriceWaterhouse Coopers. He has a Bachelor of Management Studies from the University of Waikato. Allen is a CFA & CAIA charter holder and is a CA with the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Michelle Li

Investment Analyst

Michelle is an Investment Analyst supporting investments made through the Seed Co-investment Fund. Prior to joining NZVIF, Michelle had worked in banking, corporate ventures, IT and policy research in the UK, China, US and New Zealand. She has an MBA from Cambridge University, a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Regulation from London School of Economics and Political Science, and Bachelor degrees in Information Systems, Accounting and Marketing from the University of Auckland.

Sarah Hamilton

Financial Controller

Sarah Hamilton is responsible for all financial and statutory reporting for the company and the funds. She has extensive accounting experience with large fund management companies in New Zealand. Sarah has a Bcom from Otago University and is a CA with the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Ruth Malo

Operations Manager

Ruth is a senior operations manager with over 12 years’ experience in operations and project management. Ruth oversees the day to day operations for NZVIF including Board Secretary. Prior to NZVIF, Ruth has experience in public health workforce development, disability, tertiary education and research. She has been with NZVIF since 2006 and has a PGDipBus(Admin) from Auckland University.

Sue Maher

Accounts Manager

Sue Maher's career spans a wide range of administrative roles, both in New Zealand and overseas. She manages the NZVIF accounts and supplier contracts, as well as sharing administrative duties with the Administration Manager.